Ageless Beauty
by Kanon Hara
Summary: AU Vampire Fic. Ken is haunted by a man he had met when he was younger. Despising this man for cold-heartedly killing his loved ones... and despising himself for falling in love with him. Ch.5
1. Prologue

**Ageless Beauty**

**Disclaimers: **I don't own the characters of Weiss; they belong to their respected owners. But I do own the character Tetsuya.

**Warning:** Shonen-ai, Vampires, harsh language.

**Pairings:** Tetsuya + Ran; Ran X Ken; Yohji X Omi.

**Authors Note: **I know I haven't been updating for a while. School is starting to bite me in the butt… I'm somewhat behind –cries- because I got sick really bad, and I had to stay home. So yes… As for my other fics, they will be updated during my spring break, so please bear with me guys. –Sigh- okay, now that I pushed that away, I hope you enjoy this story. Typing the prologue itself took so much time and patience… with this fic I'm kind of aiming for a dark, exotic kind of feel, you know? A style I haven't actually typed. So I really hope you enjoy this prologue.

**Ageless Beauty**

**Prologue**

What gives you the rights?

To fuck with our lives?

A devil born in paradise

A liar loves to lie

Keep watching your back

Killers always have killers on their track

Keep watching the sky…

**--He Lied about his Death//STARS**

A porcelain figure leaned in to lick the red liquid exiting the artery he punctured. Ecstasy rushed through his body as he tasted the warm blood rub against his lips and run down his throat. He shivered from the mere excitement of the kill, and their blood curdling screams as he finally took hold of his prey.

He stood up and examined the two limp bodies lying on the floor. Their limbs sprawled from the struggle. The struggle to live.

Violet eyes took a glance in the dark room as though he has forgotten where he was at. He winced at the pestering tick of the clock echoing throughout the room. He lifted an elegantly lined brow at the clock. With a glare of more than five minutes, he scoffed at the defeat and turned away.

A whimper was released replacing the sound of the clock.

The immortal paused and turned to stare directly at the figure against the wall, breathing hoarsely.

The said figure attempted to speak, but what left his mouth was his heavy breaths and a mouth moving without intelligence. The immortal stared at the scared figure and smiled at the beauty of it. He approached it with preternatural speed. But with great elegance.

As the vampire reached the scared child, he slowly mouthed out his name to him. Apprehensive, the boy mouthed it out himself, mimicking the gestures of the man as well.

"That's it, beautiful… now say it aloud." The vampire was almost driven to excitement at just the thought of touching the young boys sun kissed skin and his chocolate brown hair.

The boy stumbled on his words as he attempted to say the man's name.

"R… Ran" The boy said.

"That's right… now you remember that, for I _will_ return to you someday, and you _will _be mine." Ran guaranteed, and he reached for the boys hand to kiss it.

The brunette held his breath as he felt the cold mixed with vague human heat in the vampire's hand. The kiss itself was colder, causing the boy to shiver involuntarily from the foreign feelings of the immortals kiss.

Ran stood to his full height and turned away, dizzy from the inviting scent of the boy. He turned to look at the boy to record his beauty in his mind one last time.

"By the way, what's your name?" Ran smiled.

----

You are the shadow of fear!

You scare the love out of here

Like an ape in a cage

Small white man in a rage

Mellow suit, mellow smile

Limousines down murder mile…

Watch the devil's at play!

Drain the bottle empty

California today

Tomorrow it's you and me…

**--He Lied about his Death//STARS**

**TBC**

**----**

**So how was that? Okay? Eep! I hope so! Well, I had this idea in my head for some time now, I'm glad I actually took the time to put it down on paper and now the computer hehe. Okay well, I hope to read some encouraging reviews. Also this goes to my other stories, if you wish to know anything about my fics (as in why it's taking long to update and such) read my profile, I update it when necessary so that I can inform my readers, so please check if you have any questions. Thank you **


	2. Feel the Silence

**Ageless Beauty**

**Disclaimer: **Must I really repeat myself? Honestly… it's too much effort lol

**Authors Note: **So another chapter for this story DOES exist! Haha sorry… it took long to update.. I know. But what can I say, I'm busy with school, catching up on my missing hours of rest and… other stuff –cough cough- lol anyway, with this fic, I really don't want to rush into it, because I really want to take time in developing the plot and making each chapter comprehendible, so yes. Thank you for the reviews, so in gratitude I took my precious time to write this chapter so please enjoy!

**Ageless Beauty**

**Chapter One**

You lie awake at night

With blue eyes that never cry

All you remember now

Is what you feel

The truth remains

In midnight conversations

I asked for this moment

But you turned away.

**--Feel the Silence//Goo Goo Dolls**

**----**

Wandering turquoise eyes scanned the elaborately lighted room. Loud music mixed with screaming voices echoed the area. Ken rested his chin on his hand, pure annoyance plastered on his face. He yawned loudly, not really caring of how rude he appeared and he stretched his arms out. Dropping them to his sides and slowly moving his gaze to the bartender. Not as bored as he was when he was staring at the chaotic dancing crowd, but instead more intrigued at the blondes talented hands. Skillfully switching bottles from hand to hand and flirting –and get this- at the same time! With years of working at the club, all of the blonde's movements flowed without effort, seemingly becoming almost second nature to him.

Ken was entranced by Yohji serving the few that surrounded the bar that he has forgotten about his boredom of the club and his idea about leaving and just staying up until the tall man returned home from work.

The brunette worked in a small, very serene café that closed everyday at seven. This has resulted in Ken's spontaneous urges to seek entertainment, this night being no different. For that very reason, Ken takes a trip to the club his roommate, Yohji, works at, and usually stays there until his eyelids refused to stay open or until he felt that he was getting in the way of his friends' working.

"Ne Kenken…" The brunette reacted to his friend's voice, blinking his way out of his thoughts.

"Huh?" Came his intelligent response. The blonde softly laughed in his fisted hand.

"Aren't you tired? It's already fifteen passed one, don't you have to wake up early?"

Ken yawned again, forcing tears to his eyes. He dropped his head to his folded arms mumbling incoherently. Yohji leaned forward towards Ken, tapping the younger man to repeat himself.

"I don't like being alone.." Ken's voice muffled from his arms.

Yohji's lips stretched to an almost catlike smile, and he tapped the table twice with both his hands.

"Alright, I'll get off early tonight then, and after that, we can grab something to eat on the way back… okay?" The man peered over his sunglasses that casually rested on the bridge of his nose, just to study the brunette.

With Ken's last remaining energy, he lifted his head and threw his friend a small smile in return.

"Okay, sounds good to me…" Ken stood up from his current seating spot, stretching out the limbs that didn't receive the same luxury as his arms did when he stretched before, he then lazily moved his way across the club towards the exit and leaned against the vibrating wall.

Not being disappointed with the wait, Yohji showed up walking towards Ken after about a five minute wait or less, blowing the man a kiss and swinging his arms around Ken's waist.

"Let's go honey!" Yohji teased nuzzling Ken's cheek.

Ken flinched from the touch and shoved Yohji out the door not failing to give him another shove with a kick on his butt.

"Yohji no BAKA! I already told you not to do that! Mainly in this club! People will think that we are lovers!" Yohji stumbled forward and he spun around frowning at Ken.

"But… they already think that we are, why not give the fans what they want? Hmmm?" The lanky man pushed his sunglasses up before removing them and smiling innocently at his friend.

"That is not funny! Now let's go… I'm hungry and tired…" Ken pouted.

"Yeah, let's go." Yohji laughed and walked ahead to his car to unlock the doors.

Ken paused on his steps and he ran his eyes around the almost empty parking lot, shuddering involuntarily and subtly peering over his shoulders. He looked ahead at Yohji, and he increased his pace attempting to ignore the feeling of eyes watching him from behind. More focused to what was or could be behind him that he has crashed forcefully into Yohji, resulting in him falling to the floor and shoving the said man against his car. Yohji spun on his heels to find Ken on the ground.

"Kenken, what was that for!" The blonde pouted lending Ken a hand to help him up.

"Ah! Sorry Yohji! I… just… sorry!" Ken bowed apologetically. Yohji tilted his head when he noticed Ken's somewhat unsteady reaction and dismissed the incident as a little mistake (as it was).

"No! Don't worry!" Yohji chuckled waving his hands and then turning to open the passenger seat door for Ken.

"Th-thank you…" Ken looked down, grateful that the night has covered his blush.

He entered the car, shutting the door and locking it quickly just to be cautious. He sighed loudly and leaned his head against the window, staring up at the translucent, pale moon and then switching his attention to Yohji who entered the car a few minutes after.

The drive on their way back from the club was quiet, but not awkward. It was more tranquil actually. Ken still had his head against the glass, staring at the colorful city. His mind barely focused on what stood outside but instead of his recurring dreams. Deep pools of blue-green looked up at the milky moon again, his eyes squinting at the nostalgic feeling he had developed for just performing that act. The thought of a tall, thin man with the same pale, ivory color as the moon and his hair… drenched in crimson red silk came into mind. Though the thought of the moon gave him a more reassuring feeling than the man. The brunette began anxiously scratching his hand causing it to turn a dark shade of red. He pinched it and continued to scratch it ignoring the burning sensation, he seemed to be in some kind of trance as he scratched and scratched injuring the tissue. He needed to rid himself from that pestering cold feeling he has been feeling on his hand for the past few days… coincidentally after his dreams began.

"Ken.. Ken!" The blonde man grabbed Ken's hand that seemed to move at its own will.

"Ken!" Ken shook his head and looked down at his red hand in surprise, and held it up to his chest. How long has the scratching been occurring? Ken didn't even know.

"Wh-where are we?" Yohji gave Ken a strange look and stared at the drive way and around the small part of the city.

"We're…. home? Ken, is something bothering you? You've been… kind of out of it lately?" The blonde tilted his head in question and spoke again.

"And don't say that I'm imagining it, because it's pretty obvious. What's wrong?" Yohji's words were filled with concern Ken just couldn't look at him directly when he lied.

"I'm fine Yohji, I think I'm catching a cold… or something." He glanced up at the full moon one last time and back down at his red hand that began to show small dots, almost like pricks, of blood. He licked it and blew on it.

"I heard that the full moon makes people act weird." He pointed down at his hand and laughed.

"So, what about the food?" The man gave Ken another look and he raised a brow, he pointed at the food at the back seat.

"I thought you were sleeping, so I just ordered the usual… I hope you don't mind…"

"No, that's fine! Sorry for worrying you Yohji" Ken weakly smiled at Yohji and exit the car and walked towards their apartment with sluggish movements. Yohji shut the door with the push from his hip and sighed at watching an almost lifeless Ken.

"Maybe the moon could do that to a person…" He followed the brunette to their place.

**----**

"There it was again…" Ken thought aloud as he stared down at his hand. He began to blow his warm breath over his hand to keep it warm and then ignoring it completely as he began scanning his dark room. His eyes fixed itself on a small square of light on the floor. The moon's light has pierced through his window and presented itself as a small square of light that he couldn't keep his eyes off.

"What is this? What's up with me?" Ken closed his eyes and he dropped down to his bed face up, and stared at the ceiling. He was tired at the club, he was hoping to pass out on his bed, but that was just too much to ask. Something… or rather someone has been bothering him.

But how?

"Telepathically?" He didn't suppress his laugh from this thought.

"That's stupid…" He adjusted his head over his flat pillow thinking of nothing in particular. He just wanted to sleep.

As time passed by he began to grow wearier of his activity of staring at the ceiling, every blink becoming heavier than the last. The weight over his chest caused him to turn over in a more comfortable position, slipping his right arm under his pillow, helping to lift his head up, and yawning. With his left arm that lay on his side, he lifted it to rub his eyelids that stuck together from his exhaustion releasing yet again another yawn.

He finally drifted to sleep.

----

Those eyes… those violet eyes could penetrate darkness, so cold… so still. These eyes weren't a window to the owners' soul. Almost like glass eyes from a doll. But such beautiful eyes they were, the color giving an obvious contrast to the milky skin and the blood red hair. Such a beautiful creature it was. Not showing any kind of movement, it simply stood… staring directly at Ken.

"_Who are you…?" _Ken was paralyzed in his dreams. The figure drew in closer to him.

The brunette's heart nearly jumped right out from his chest. This person… a walking doll, flawless white skin that would make the moon jealous, along with intoxicating purple eyes that has pierced Ken's soul directly. The figure was extremely slender, but not making him any less beautiful… no, it made him all the more breathtaking. Yet, as this beautiful man walked towards Ken, Ken felt more alarmed and scared than before.

Ken was gasping for sure outside of his dream, but in his dream, he couldn't make a sound escape. Here is a man approaching him, with steady steps, disguising himself with this veil of beauty that might just kill him!

"_Kill me.. in my dreams?"_ That didn't really remove the possibility of that happening.

"_Yohji__!"_He closed his eyes hoping to wake up. But as he opened it, the man was moving closer.

"_Yohji__ Please!"_ Ken couldn't keep his eyes off the man now, every step was counted and the man drew closer and closer to Ken. A smirk played on his lips ignoring how seducing that simple gesture was to Ken.

"_Wake… up please! Yohji!"_ The figure laughed a little and went down on one knee taking hold of Ken's hand.

"_What… what are you doing?"_

"_My name is Ran…" _There was that same smirk on his face, almost causing Ken to submit himself to this man.

"_I want to hear you repeat it"_ His voice had a more exotic touch to it, deep and dropped to a near whisper making him all the more mysterious… beautiful.

"_R-Ran"_ Ken caught his breath and looked down at the man knelt down before him. Those thin, soft, cold lips kissed his hand.

"_I'm closer to you than you think… just wait for me… I'll return to you someday.. and you will be-_

----

"Ken! Wake up!" The brunette opened his eyes instantly.

"Yohji…" Ken sat up and stared at the wall in front of his bed and was reaching out for Yohji.

"I saw… him…"

"Saw who?" Yohji took a seat on Ken's bed and lightly brushed the brunette's mussed hair from his forehead.

"He…" He lifted his hand to his eye and rubbed it.

"Ken… you just had a nightmare… go to sleep now." Ken shrugged a little.

"It really wasn't a nightmare.. it was… weird…"

Yohji sadly smiled.

"Go to sleep Ken, we can talk about this in the morning…" The blonde stood up running his fingers through his blonde locks and began to walk out of Ken's room.

"Yohji… wait.."

"Uh?"

Ken fiddled nervously with his shirt.

"Would…I mean… it really wouldn't bother me if you stayed here… for a while" Yohji stared at Ken a bit confused. But the expression was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Well I hope you don't mind me staying the entire night." Yohji laughed a little.

"Now move over, I'm coming in!" Yohji shoved Ken a little and jumped in the bed. Pulling the thin blanket over his thin body, he drew Ken closer to him.

----

"_I'll return to you someday… and you will be mine…"_

----

Sad like a lonely child

Broken the day you're born

I held the light to you

But I was so vain

And you remain

A promise unfulfilled

I ask you for more

But you push me away…

**--Feel the Silence//Goo Goo Dolls**


	3. One More Night

**Ageless Beauty **

**Authors Note: **So I'm assuming my reviewers are wondering what I have been doing for a while… because it's apparent that I haven't been posting new fics, or new chapters and such. Well, I shall tell you! I have been revising a few chapters. This one included, I read through it… and ohh goodness… it was poorly written and had terrible run-on sentences! Lol I nearly gagged when I finally read through this. Yes it took about a year to finally correct those nasty errors lol so please enjoy the new and improved chapter 3 of Ageless Beauty.

Also, on the prologue, I have stated that Tetsuya is a character I made… well… I really don't want to add a new character in this fic… so I'll just replace him with someone else. I'll keep that a secret! lol

**WARNING:** I proof read and corrected! Lol I've learned from my mistakes… so basically, a warning isn't necessary lol

**Ageless Beauty**

**Chapter Two**

Try as he might, he's unable to speak

He grabs her by the hair; he strokes her on the cheek

The bed is unmade, like everything is

Dark little Heaven at the top of the stairs

Take me like that, ruin it all

Then build it again by the light in the hall

He drops to his knees, says, "Please, my love, please.

I'll kill who you hate, take off that dress you won't freeze."

**--One More Night//STARS**

**----**

Ran stood against the wall of the club Heaven's Night (1), blending well with the shadow. One eye covered with his red hair as the other vividly stuck out in the night, and with that eye he simply stared at the sports car leaving the parking lot. He lowered his head and chuckled to himself. The redhead pushed himself off the wall and stepped away from the boundaries of the shadow, and carelessly step foot in the light of the moon, as it surrounded the lot with a light blue hue. The man took a few steps forward, now creating his own shadow.

The vampire still kept his head down, stuffing only his thumbs in his pocket of his denim jeans and keeping his spot in the middle of the parking. Probably a special one, considering that his favorite brunette stopped in this very spot and sensed his presence. Ran slowly lifted his head smiling and sniffed the air like a dog. There was still a faint scent of Ken's blood left lingering in the air, but the crisp breeze of fall didn't hesitate to take it away.

He removed his thumbs from his pockets and pulled down his long sleeved shirt over the belt of his pants. A simple human gesture, he thought with a laugh. Ran slowly walked out of the parking, going the direction the car did and keeping himself entertained by playfully kicking any small item found on the ground: rocks, cans, bottles etc. as well as humming a familiar tune to himself.

"I'm going to keep my promise, my angel…"

Ran lovingly stared at the stars.

"My angel…" He smiled now stuffing his entire hand in his pockets.

Repeating the sentence over and over again, to himself, he threw his head back and laughed.

----

Ken rubbed his eyes, trying to remove the sleep from them. He yawned loudly and stretched his limbs out, then relaxed his body. He turned to the sleeping man next to him and smiled. He has never seen Yohji look so innocent, it's actually cute, he thought with a blush. Ken was about to lift his hand to brush the hair from the blondes eye, but it was disrupted by a knock on the door.

And another.

And another.

And another.

After about fifty knocks or so, they soon became impatient bangs.

Ken growled and cursed the person who stood outside the front door. He threw his leg over Yohji and climbed over him. Sighing in relief when he turned back to see Yohji still sound asleep.

Now, time to take care of the one responsible for the banging.

He opened his door to his room and poked his head into the hall.

The banging continued.

He walked out of his room and towards the front door and swung it open.

"WHAT!"

"FINALLY!" The voice yelled back.

"What the hell is your problem, you – OMI?" Ken froze and looked down at Omi.

"How long did you plan to sleep?" Omi asked with a lift of his brow.

"All day if I had too." Ken stuck his tongue out at Omi as he entered the apartment.

"You could at least be a little quieter; Yohji didn't get enough sleep last night."

Omi removed his sweater.

"Yohji? Who's that?" He furrowed his eyebrows.

"You didn't tell me that you had a roommate, I would have kept knocking." Omi smirked and sat down on the sofa.

"Yeah… I kinda forgot to tell you…"

Omi Frowned.

"How long did he live here?"

"Already going on his third month."

"Gee thanks Ken, I don't know how long you were gonna wait until you finally told me" The blonde looked down at his watch and gasped.

"But tell me the story later though, because you are late for work!"

"What? No, I don't work today, it's—"

"Friday…"

The brunette dropped his hands to his sides and dumbly stared past his friends' head.

"Shit."

He scurried to the bathroom and turned the shower on.

The blond frowned and relaxed his weight on the sofa.

"Ken?" Omi's eyes widened when he heard an unfamiliar voice in the hallway.

"Ken!" Hearing the frustration from the voice, Omi stood up from his spot.

"You're not Ken…" Yohji's lips stretched to a smile.

Omi bowed apologetically.

"I'm so sorry for waking you!" The younger male kept his head down waiting for a response from Yohji.

"Huh? Waking me?" Yohji laughed.

"Even if you did, it's not like Ken hasn't already. He can be so loud for just getting a glass of water!" He laughs more.

Omi hesitantly lifted his head and blushes from seeing Yohji's naked chest.

The lanky man dug through the pockets of his pajama pants, taking out a box of cigarettes.

"So what's your name?" He lighted the cigarette and sat down.

"Tsukiyono… Omi" He paused in between his name.

Yohji smiled at Omi and patted the spot next to him for Omi to sit down.

"I'm Kudou Yohji, Ken probably told you about me"

"No… not at all."

Yohji's shoulders dropped.

"He hasn't?! But how is that possible?!" Yohji gasped.

He drops his head and sighs loudly. How could a friend he knew for almost six months fail to tell another friend about him? He was expecting Omi to say 'Oh, so you're the famous Yohji Ken has been talking about so much!' But instead he was left with a very confused person that has never heard of the name 'Yohji' in his life. His reaction was that of a traumatized person. He made a vow to himself that he'll never forgive Ken for this. Yohji's not known for keeping grudges, but he'll make an exception.

"Well isn't that just nice of him!" He scoffed.

"Umm… don't worry about it, Ken-kun is very forgetful anyway, maybe he just forgot to mention you!" Omi attempted to help Yohji feel better.

"Well, it seems that he's forgot to mention you to me, as well… how do you answer that, oh smart one?"

Omi frowned. There was no way to explain that, it's obvious that Ken was hiding them from each other.

"Ehh… well I can't think of anything…" Omi dropped his gaze on his feet.

"Well, you're cute. How old are you?" Yohji grinned and instantly changed the subject.

Omi's head began to burn up with a fever or just from a major blush.

"Uh… Eh?" the blonde dumbly replied.

"Hmm… you _are_ cute!" Yohji put his cigarette down in the ash tray and filled in the space between them.

"Why not tell me more about yourself, since our dear friend has failed to do so?"

"Yohji! Would you leave him alone!"

"What?"

"Leave him alone!" Ken yells again.

"Well… that's not fair! Not everyday do you bring home a cute friend!" He pouts.

"And you wonder why?"

"Aww… burn… so is this why you have failed to introduce him to me and vice versa?"

Ken slaps his face and rubs his eyes. He didn't want to have to make an excuse to explain why he 'accidentally forgot' to mention them. Yohji just had to remind Ken of how selfish the brunette was being when he chose not to introduce the two men to each other. He knew that eventually they were going to meet, but he wasn't expecting 'eventually' to be today. He runs his wet tongue over his dry lips, nervously.

"Yohji I don't have time for this, can we talk later? I'm late for work anyway."

"Oh! We'll talk later, for sure!" Yohji growls.

"And leave him alone! Bye Omi!" Ken runs out.

"Ken always treats me badly!"

Yohji smacks his lips together.

"So are you busy today?" He finally asks.

Omi's eyes widened. He was a bit confused from Yohji's previous reaction. He changes moods quickly. Is that something to worry about? Omi thought.

Yohji laughed, but didn't keep his eyes off of him.

"Please say you're not! I'd love to take you out for breakfast!"

"As in a—"

"Date? Definitely!" The taller blonde stood up and stretched.

"But I'm a—"

"Yeah I know! Don't worry, I like boys and girls!" He winks and walks toward the bathroom.

"Oh….. Wait! What?"

"I'll be out in a few, don't run away now."

**----**

Omi nervously played with his fork.

"What's wrong Omi? You barely touched your food" Yohji frowns.

"Um… can I ask you something?"

"Oh! Feel free too!" Yohji says excitedly after taking a sip from his coffee.

The shorter male places his fork down and takes a drink from his orange juice, subconsciously mocking Yohji's actions and not really noticing Yohji watching him with interest.

"How did you and Ken-kun meet?"

Yohji sighs and rests his head on his hands.

"Well, it's kind of a long story… when we get to know each other more, I'll tell you… how's that for an answer?"

Omi shrugs and smiles.

"If you feel comfortable that way… then it's fine by me." Omi was lying, of course. He was very curious, and was hoping Yohji would change his mind about waiting to tell him when he feels more comfortable. But as Omi waited a little, Yohji hasn't opened his mouth once. He didn't even show that he was itching to tell him. He just sat and stared. Calm, basically.

Yohji smiles and broke the silence with his laughter.

"What?"

"Oh… nothing. You just have… a nice smile." He says with honesty.

"Oh…" Omi blushes.

"Sorry for making you feel uncomfortable…" Yohji pauses then went on.

"Wanna do something after this?"

"Sure, I have nothing better to do…" Omi teases.

"Oh-ho! You have jokes!" He laughs.

"Finish what you can and let's get out of here"

**----**

"Why me!" Ken whines and stares at the mess left in the cafe.

The shop is about ready to close, and he was the one left to clean up the mess from his busy day.

He was all alone to sweep the floor, put everything in order and take the trash out. There was probably more to do, but he couldn't remember. Momo was very mad when she saw Ken enter the shop about two hours late. She pulled him to the side and began to bark orders at him. They were clear at first, but when she hasn't taken a breath after the twentieth order, they soon became incoherent babbling. The only thing Ken got out of the whole thing was that Momo was very mad, but word-wise… nothing.

"Where to start?" Ken sarcastically said.

He lazily dragged his feet to the full trash bin, neatly placed next to the front counter. Visible for everyone to see from outside.

"I'll start with you!" He accusingly pointed.

"You'll be getting the hell out of here!" He laughs and approaches his target.

He lifts the heavy bag out of the trash bin and twists the opening into a knot. He drags it across the shop to the front door and pushes the door open with his hip. But it was nearly impossible to drag the bag out of the door, so he decides to lift the entire thing, placing his hand below the bag for more support and hoping to efficiently get it across the street.

But it was too heavy, even for him to carry it to the other side. After finally getting out of the door, he drops the bag.

"Now, to get you over there!" He looks down at the bag and points across the street. He takes a breath, and releases a groan, pure annoyance took over. He picks the bag up again and hesitantly walks across the street to the dark alley. Breathing was heard at the very depths of the alleyway, this breathing was going in unison with his, but finally took over his own breath.

"Who's there?" He froze in the entrance of the alley.

His reply was a chuckle.

He gasped and backed up.

"Don't Leave" The voice urged.

"Wh… Who are you?" Ken managed to ask again.

The figure slowly walked out of the shadow of the alley and stands on the light, close to the entrance of the alley to show himself to the fearful brunette.

Ken dropped the bag.

"Don't be scared…" The man calmly said.

"I'm not going to hurt you… Ken"

"What? How did you know… my…"

It seemed like Ken was offended by this strangers knowledge and he backed away about ready to run to the shop. But the creature's preternatural speed managed to grab Ken's arm.

"Nuh…. What do you want!" Ken struggled against Ran's grasp, but it was like going against stone. The man didn't even budge.

"Let go…" Ken whispered in fear.

"Let go! Uh….. You're hurting ME!" He screamed.

Ran cringed from the echo of Ken's voice and instantly let go of Ken's arm.

From that instant release Ken fell back to the floor and landed with a loud 'umph'. Ken glared at Ran and rubbed his injured arm.

Ran looked away a bit ashamed at his careless reaction. He sighed, went down on his knees and crawled towards Ken.

"St- Stay away from me!" The brunette pushed away with his legs.

"Wait…" The immortal moved in a little closer to Ken and took his hand.

"See? I won't hurt you…" He said feeling Ken's speeding pulse in the palm of his hand.

"I promise…" He cautiously moved closer and kissed the bruise on the brunette's arm.

Ken blushed when he was able to visibly capture the redheads face from the light of the moon.

"Your… your eyes!" He breathed.

Ran moved away from Ken's arm and sat down still holding Ken's hand.

"And you're cold…."

Ken noted the hurt in Ran's eyes and bit his lower lip.

"You don't remember me…" Ran simply stated to him.

He stood up and sadly looked at the arm he injured and clenched his fist.

"I came at a most inopportune moment… please forgive me…" Ran bowed.

"Let's meet again… Soon…" he sighed again and walked out of the area.

The brunette stared at the man as he soon disappeared. He continued to rub his injured arm, and began to breathe hoarsely. The presence of that man brought chills throughout his body. The deep voice replayed in his head over and over again. It showed so much concern… sincerity. Ken knew he heard his voice somewhere, but knowing exactly where, was an impossible task to figure. That or he just couldn't think clearly to figure out where he heard it from.

His entire body ached from the panic attack he was about to experience. He was on guard and depended on mere nerves to get him out of the area. Why was he so afraid of him? Aside from his far from normal speed and his cold hands, what else scared him so much about the redhead?

Ken grabbed his shirt on his chest and clenched it. He felt a cold sensation rise to his chest and breathing was almost cut short as his entire body began to shake from his nerves. He was deathly afraid of this man, he has no idea how he'll react the next time he saw him.

He dropped his head and began to sob from the overwhelming fear.

**----**

Ran kept walking without any sense of direction with his hands stuffed down his pocket. He cursed his strength, his immortality, and most of all… himself.

He scared Ken and hurt him!

"Damn it!" He stopped at his step when he felt someone follow him.

It was his kind, he knew that much, but he didn't know who.

The man laughed at him mockingly.

"You're such an idiot! I told you no mortal would accept you…. you never listen to your elders… do you…? It's such a shame." The voice continued to laugh.

Ran turned around with a growl.

"Shut up!"

"Mmm… touché…"

"No one told you to follow!"

"I told you not to see that boy." The man calmly replied back.

"Leave me alone."

Again, the man laughed.

"You can't even _stand_ being alone… come Ran."

Ran knew that this man had a point. Ran had no one else but this man.

His creator.

His friend.

And his lover.

The redhead growled and followed.

He cursed his vulnerability as well.

**----**

_"Time cannot destroy it. I am that love-time cannot touch me. Time but changes the form. Somewhere in some time it will return. When you least expect it, the face of a loved one reappears. Look beyond the face and you will see me."_

_--Unknown_

**----**


	4. Tonight

**Ageless Beauty**

**By: Kanon Hara**

**A/N: **Hey, I have revised this chapter as well. There weren't many errors in this as the last one, but I thought, "Why not?" so I corrected the tiny errors in this chapter that managed to get away from me the last time I corrected it lol

**Revision for Chapter 3 and 4- 07/30/2007**

**Ageless Beauty**

**Chapter Three**

Come around and say you love me

Hang your heart in lights above me

Is that too much to ask for?

When the night descends upon us

Take a shower, dry your hair by the furnace

I'll watch you from the corner.

--**Tonight//STARS**

----

After a few hours of walking around and listening to Brad talk about himself, Ran decided to just tune out the man's voice to dive in his own thoughts. To analyze the events that took place earlier. Brad cared less if Ran listened or not. This wasn't the first time the redhead has done it to him; he's gotten use to it after living with the redhead for about two centuries. In the beginning, however, it has gotten rather frustrating to try to get Ran's attention, but now, it's one of those aspects that Brad loved so much about Ran. It wasn't one of his greatest habits, but it's what attracted him to the redhead. He snuck a quick glance at Ran's direction with a smile; then he turned back and continues talking.

Brad led Ran back to their Victorian decorated suite. Heavy drapes started from the ceiling and touched the floor like a dress. Any opening from the window was cover with another layer of drapes; that always took care of the job. The room was lit gold from the antique lamps in every corner; the mahogany colored wooden floors gave the room an elegant and warm feel. Ran enjoyed the Victorian decorations. It reminded him so much of his time, when he was alive in the 19th century. But at the same time, the entire suite becomes a perfect description of hell for him. He despised this place more than he loved it. He felt trapped, imprisoned. Ran had no other reason to hate it; just having the feeling that he was being constrained was enough to cause him to hate it.

"Aya…" Brad called.

He usually called Ran after his sister. Because before Ran had his mortal life taken from him, Brad learned that Ran was particularly close with his sister. Unfortunately, at the age of eighteen, she died from typhoid (2). Since then, Ran has adopted the name Aya, in memory of his sister.

Very few know about this name. It took Brad a couple of years to have Ran tell him. It's one of those secrets the redhead tells when he feels complete and absolute trust to a particular person. Brad feels honored about knowing this fact about him. When Ran was able to walk under the sun, Brad has followed him and watched over him. He was intrigued by this man from the very beginning, when he first saw him sitting alone in front of a bar in the middle of night. Of course Ran never knew about this until the night that Brad took him from his mortal life. But before all that, Brad has learned so much about Ran. One of those things being that Ran would never tell anyone about anything but his sister. So knowing that Ran has confided in Brad with something as important as him adopting his sister's name was something he felt privileged about.

"Aya, have a seat" In an intimate conversation, Brad would call him Aya. In public though, the redhead only answered to Ran. Brad had to learn the hard way.

Ran quietly pulled a chair out and took a seat next to the fire place.

Brad softly laughed and looked at Ran lovingly.

"What's your interest in that boy?" He crossed his legs and poked his glasses.

Ran shook his head.

"Take those off, you look ridiculous Brad"

Brad smiled and took the fake eyeglasses off.

"I've actually grew fond of them, it's my way of blending with all the idiots of this time. It's really hard to find anything elegant and nice to look at these days isn't it?" He places the glasses down on the table beside him.

Ran nodded.

"So, what is so interesting about this boy?" He asked again.

"I don't know… I just feel that he's different from everyone I've seen."

"That's stupid!" Brad scoffed.

"You felt that way about me, when I was mortal. You said you felt different when you were around me."

Brad shook his head. He hated hearing his own words parroted back at him. He knew Ran was doing it to annoy him though. But it's one of those features he loved so much.

"Aya, you were and _are _different, but this boy isn't. He obviously feared you and rejected you, you on the other hand, were afraid of me, but didn't reject me."

Ran was recalling earlier when he was with Ken. The hurt returned.

"What if he doesn't reject me?" He asked.

"Good question! What if he doesn't Aya? That's good and all… but…" Brad paused and sneered at Ran.

"He has all the rights to know who killed his parents… am I correct?"

Ran almost forgot that major detail. Ken didn't remember him, so he most likely doesn't remember how his parents died. It's normal for a child who has experienced a traumatic episode, such as watching their parents die, to repress the memory of it. The brunette did have all the rights to know how they died, and from whom.

He sighed.

"You're right… he does…" Ran admitted.

Brad cackled.

"I know! And then, he'll be sure to reject you! This boy is nothing but bad news and drama. I suggest you stay away from him. He's not worth your time."

The redhead was glaring down at his clenched fists.

"Aya…" The taller male said with sincerity.

Brad stood up and stepped in front of Ran's statued form.

"I love you, Aya…" Ran pressed his head onto Brads chest.

His creator responded by hugging him tightly while brushing his silky hair back.

"I would never leave you…" He went on.

"I don't like seeing you this way" Brad admitted still brushing Ran's hair.

"Did you fall in love with him?"

Ran stiffened.

"If you did… then I must admit that I'm jealous… It's effort enough for me to have you tell me that you love me… So if you have fallen in love with this kid… I'm going to have to do something about it" He guaranteed.

The redhead sighed again. He despised how possessive Brad can be. It's almost sickening, he had to admit. But then he fell back to the thought of Ken figuring out the truth about his parents. He buried his head in Brad's chest. He was trying not to think about it. It's too painful to think about.

"I love you…" Ran quietly said.

Brad smiled and leaned down to the redhead.

"I love you Ran… and no one else…" He placed a small kiss on Ran's lips.

**----**

Ken still sat in the entrance of the alleyway; he still couldn't even stomach the situation he experienced.

It has done so much for his nerves that he couldn't even feel his legs. It was as if someone has literally sucked the energy out of them, because standing was impossible at the moment.

"How did that guy know my name?" He asked himself. He brought his hand to his cold lips and took a deep breath.

"Those eyes, his… I've seen him… uhhh!" He yelped and rubbed his head from that instant sharp pain.

The pain shot though his head like thunder and then dissipated down his back.

"Yohji…" He whispered looking from left to right down the empty street. He was beginning to feel dizzy when he thought of that mysterious man, as he described him. A beautiful, mysterious man, he concluded. He lifted a trembling hand and dug through his pockets for the cell phone. He needed to call Yohji.

Yohji has always been there for him whenever he needed someone, regardless of the time, or where Ken was at. Yohji is his safety blanket. He could already feel his strength return when he thought of the blonde wrapping his arms around him and whispering soothing words to him.

He's developed feelings for the lanky blonde, as if it wasn't obvious enough. That could also explain why he selfishly kept Yohji away from Omi and vice versa.

He dialed his number.

**----**

"Ah! C'mon Omi-chan!" Yohji laughs.

"No!" Omi yells back in protest.

"But it… wait, hold on, Ken's calling." Yohji recognized the ringer and picked up the cell phone.

"Yo!" He paused.

"Ken… what's wrong?"

Omi dropped the dress and turned to Yohji.

"Yohji-san… what's wrong…?" Yohji didn't answer.

"Okay… don't worry… I'll be there…" He hung up.

Yohji pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath. What happened to Ken? Yohji thought to himself. The blonde returns the phone back to his pocket and looks down at the shorter male with a forced smile.

"What happened to Ken-kun? Please, tell me!" Omi urgently looks up at Yohji.

Yohji looked passed Omi and thought of Ken.

"I'm sorry… we have to go…" Yohji grabs Omi's arm and storms out of the mall.

**----**

The brunette released a shaky breath when he hung up the phone. He felt the back of his eyes burn when he thought about the man he unfortunately met. His entire vision became blurred as his warm tears crept down his face. It tingled against his cold, flushed cheeks and instantly became cold as they dripped off his chin. There was something about that man that hurt him… emotionally, of course. Ken feared him, but when the man touched his hand, it was instant nostalgia. The overall emotion Ken felt around this man was pain.

His eyes grew more blurry, and the world around him was transformed into water paint on a canvas. The lights spilled together with the dark. It was too late to even control his tears now. They fell harder with every choking sob he released.

He weakly turned his head to the street and saw a car driving close by. His heart instantly jumped when it screeched to a halt in front of the café. It was Yohji's car.

Omi pushed the door open and ran towards Ken.

"Ken-kun!" Omi dropped to his knees and hugged Ken.

"Ken-kun… what happened?" Omi pulled away, and softened his voice when he noticed Ken's tears run down his face.

Yohji later approached.

"Ken!" Yohji took his sunglasses off when he saw the bruise on Ken's arm.

"That's a nasty bruise… who did this?" Yohji's eyes widened. He was livid.

The playboy touched Ken's arm and studied the brunette's expression. Ken sniffled and sadly shrugged.

"Not even I know…" He whispered.

Omi brushed his hair away from his wet face.

"Ken-kun… do you need help to get up?"

Ken forced a laugh and nodded.

"Yeah… I almost forgot…" Ken frowned.

The shorter blonde stood up and stared over at Yohji, who bent over and scooped Ken up in his arms. He nuzzled Ken and softly apologized in his ear. Omi felt a cold pressure in his chest at the sight of both of them, most likely feeling jealous. But he pushed that emotion aside to help Ken in the car. The brunette was literally paralyzed from fear.

From what? Omi asked himself.

Ken leaned against the window as Yohji got the car started.

The brunette began to think of the redhead again, he knew that he has seen him somewhere. But he couldn't remember where and when.

He had to know, he wouldn't be able to rest if he couldn't figure if out.

"Ahh…" He moaned.

From every warm shot of pain he had, he experienced brief flashes of pictures.

There was a dark room, flashed from cars passing by. It helped him see the room clearly, if even for a brief moment. Eyes fell upon two bodies lying on the floor. Red. Red.

"It was red… everywhere… ow…" Ken cringed from the persistent pain.

"Ken-kun, what's hurting you?"

Ken only stared past his young friend.

"Ahh!!!" Ken screamed, squeezing his head.

"Ken!" Yohji called, but kept his eyes on the road.

"Hold on, we're almost there" Yohji whispered. He bit his lip and sped up.

Just as promised, the blonde parked in the drive way of the apartments and carefully helped Ken out of the car and into the apartment stairwell. He carried the brunette up the last remaining steps to their apartment, because it seemed that it would have taken the whole night if they waited on Ken to get up on his own.

They entered the apartment, and Yohji turned on the white lights in their place. This gave Yohji a perfect view of Ken's bruise.

He gasped.

"Ken! Which bastard did this to you?" Yohji spit.

Ken took a seat and shook his head.

"Yohji… I'm telling you, I don't know…" Ken sighed and rubbed his heavy eyelids. Omi sat beside him and touched his bruise.

"Does it hurt?"

"No, only when I move it. It doesn't feel as bad as it looks. It's only sore." He smiled.

"It looks like a hand print… see? These would be the fingers…" Omi traced with his index. Yohji leaned in and nodded in agreement.

"Someone grabbed you?" Yohji asked.

"Yeah…" Ken hesitated.

"Who? Ken!"

"Yohji, I honestly don't know!" Ken stressed.

"Then forget it! If you are refusing to tell me, then forget it! It shows that you didn't need my help anyway!" Yohji stormed off to his room.

"I'm not lying…" Ken sighed.

"Ken-kun… what was hurting you then? In the car I mean"

Ken fidgeted.

"It was… my head…"

"Headache?" Omi asked innocently.

"Yeah… that's it…" Ken agreed.

"Well, then… take care… I better get going now…" Omi stood up.

"And you should talk to Yohji-san… he seemed really concerned. I'm jealous" Omi laughed.

"Jealous?"

"Eh… it was a joke!" Omi covered up.

"It's late Ken… get some rest… okay?" The blonde smiles and leaves.

**----**

Then furious you threw the picture

Eye cap in hand an awful mixture

That kind of hard love is the worst

I try to speak, but you don't hear me

When you're gone, you still feel near me

For a while

For a little while

--**Tonight//STARS**

**----**

**A/N:** Just a reminder, this is not a song fic, I'm just going to put some lyrics of the songs that inspired me to write a chapter. Or just put quotes that suit the chapter… or situation.

**(1) Heaven Nights: **In the previous chapter I forgot to explain this. I got this name from the game **Silent Hill 2**. It's a strip club that I believe Maria worked in… I don't know. In this fic, it's not a strip club, however, it's just a club.

**(2) Typhoid:** is an illness caused by the bacterium salmonella Typhi. Common worldwide, it is transmitted by ingestion of food or water contaminated with feces from an infected person. The bacteria then multiply in the blood stream of the infected person and is absorbed into the digestive tract and eliminated with the waste. Many people in the 19th century died from this due to their environment.


	5. Time Can Never Kill the True Heart

**Ageless Beauty**

**By: Kanon Hara**

**Authors Note: **I doubt anyone noticed lol it's fine though... but I took the time to revise chapter 2 and 3 of this fic. You can check it out if you wish, but they aren't major changes... well maybe chapter 2 was pretty major lol so about this chapter: it took a while to start. I've made about 209725472 beginnings for this chapter, until I landed on one that I thought would work. Thank you for your reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed it.

**Ageless Beauty**

**Chapter 4**

One step closer to the sea wall

Looking down, you can see all

Hold my hand, so you don't fall

Catch your breath as the gulls call

One heart out of two

One life: Me and You

One heart out of two

One life: Me and You

**--Time Can Never Kill the True Heart//STARS**

**----**

Ken rubs his bruised arm, as he watches his friend exit the apartment. He felt a pain shoot through his body when he thought of Omi's expression when he told Ken that he was jealous of Yohji's relationship with Ken. Did Omi develop feelings for the playboy already? Ken thought. He shook his head and shrugged. It was impossible to develop feelings for someone when one barely meets them.

Or not.

It didn't take long for him to fall for Yohji, himself.

Yohji just has this energy that captures any eye.

He stops his rubbing motion and listlessly stared down the hallway. He really wanted to talk to Yohji more than anything. But the thought of having to talk about the man he saw in the alley really hurt him. The brunette wasn't sure if it hurt him physically or emotionally. He just found his entire body pound with just mentioning the redhead.

But due to the fact that he was feeling very vulnerable at the moment, he felt that he can risk talking about the man. Because being lonely was the last thing he wanted to be.

The brunette sighs and looks down at his bruise he had covered for a while with his hand. He hissed at the sight of it and quickly averted his eyes from the bruise. That simple grab really did a number on his arm. It seemed like a rope was tightly wrapped around his arm for hours. It was a horrendous sight. He really couldn't blame Yohji for getting angry when he saw the bruise. Of course, he would have reacted the same way if someone has done that to his friend.

Ken felt his bruise beginning to pound with a pestering pain. He should have known that if one was badly injured, the injury itself wouldn't start hurting until hours has passed. In this case, hours haven't passed… but a fair amount of time has, and now, his arm was hurting.

Ken stood up and slowly walked up to Yohji's bedroom door. He presses his hands and face onto the door and listens in on Yohji. But he heard nothing.

He took a breath and decided to try knocking.

The brunette still kept his face and one hand against the door. With his free hand, he lightly knocks.

"Yohji?" He stops his knocking, and waited for a reply.

Nothing.

"Yohji… _please_…" Ken whispered.

And again, nothing.

"I'm coming in." The brunette nervously swallowed and slowly pushes the door open.

The entire room was pitch black. The only visible thing in the room was Yohji's silhouette seated in front of his window staring out at the quiet neighborhood below. But he still did not acknowledge Ken's presence.

Either the blonde was deep in thought or he was very angry at Ken that he decided to ignore the man. Ken wouldn't have minded if Yohji was mad at him, in fact, he would have play along. He would have ignored Yohji as well.

But tonight… tonight was different.

He wasn't in the mood to be angry.

"Yohji…?"

"Close the door."

Ken jumped a little when he heard Yohji's stern tone echo in the dark.

He shuts the door with his foot.

"Yohji, why are you so mad?"

"Ken, don't act stupid, you know very well why I'm mad."

"Act stupid? Yohji, I'm not acting stupid. I'm telling… or rather I told you the truth of what happened. You just chose to take it as something else!"

"No Ken, I didn't choose anything. It seemed like you didn't want me to know anything… or maybe you were covering up for this bastard" Yohji turned around to glare at Ken. But since the room was dark, Ken couldn't see the glare. But he obviously didn't fail to feel it.

"Well, that's not true! And cover up for him? Why would I cover up for him? He hurt me!"

"I don't know, you tell me…" The blonde waited a while for Ken to continue. But nothing came out of the other man.

"Ok then, if that's all you were going to tell me, why are you still here?"

The brunette brought his hand to his head… he felt a migraine developing.

"I just thought that…"

"I can make you feel better" Yohji finished.

Ken couldn't hear himself say those exact words, but he knew that that was exactly what he wanted Yohji to do.

Yohji chuckled.

Not in the most comforting way, either.

"So that's why…" The blonde simply stated.

Ken only stood quiet. He shifted from foot to foot and nervously rubbed his fingers together.

"Is that all I'm good for, huh? Apparently so, since that's all you come to me for… for me to comfort you."

"That is not true Yohji! You can try to be a friend about it, and not get so angry!"

"A friend? A friend you say!" The lanky man stood up and walked up to Ken.

"A friend has the rights to know what happened to their friend if they got hurt!"

"Well, what if it's none of your business? Have you ever thought of that?"

"If it wasn't, then why the hell did you call me in the middle of my date to get your ass out of that alley? I mean really now, I thought it was none of my business!"

"Date?" Ken asks

"That is besides the point Ken! The point is you shouldn't have dragged me in this shit if it was none of my business!"

The shorter man shoves Yohji back a couple of inches. The taller man's frame was beginning to feel threatening.

"I never asked for anything… dammit Yohji! You are making this difficult!"

"Then what do you want from me Ken?!" Yohji spreads his arms out to his sides.

"Huh! What the hell do you want from me! Sex? Do you want to have pity sex with me to make you feel all better?!" The blonde drops his arms and turned to his dresser to take out a box of cigarettes.

"Don't be a fucking idiot Yohji! I don't need anything from you! It was a mistake even entering this room…"

"Then don't treat me like your little safety blanket that will go to your aid when you need comforting. I'm not stupid! I know when I'm being used Ken. When have you ever came to me when I needed someone? As far as I'm aware of, never! But I still try my best to open up to you, let you in my world! As for you, you only need me to make you feel better… and then what? Nothing! You completely shut me out of your world… completely! Ken you're not being fair to me!" Yohji nearly growled after his last sentence. He places a cigarette on his lips and lights it.

Ken wanted to beat himself. Yohji was right… but not entirely, of course he was wrong about using him. Ken had no intention on using his friend. He cared about him too much to just treat him like a little rag doll. He just got use to the idea of having Yohji comfort him when he needed someone. Maybe he did abuse Yohji's good nature.

"I'm tired of this…" Yohji takes a drag from his cigarette and blows the smoke out in one breath.

"I'm going out… don't wait up…"

Ken feels Yohji reach out for his door knob and twists the metallic handle open. A flood of light entered the black hole of a room. The blonde narrows his eyes from the painful light that pierced them and he takes out his favorite pair of sunglasses from his pocket.

"Why are you leaving?! Huh?!" Ken screams as Yohji walked to the living room and to the front door.

"Oh that's right! Because you're ugly!"

"Such a baseless argument…" Yohji says without turning around.

"Bastard!" Ken screams again before the door shuts behind Yohji.

"_Bastard…_" Ken repeats under his breath.

Ken runs his hand through his mused hair. He thought from the beginning that it was a bad time to talk to Yohji. Yet he went and did it. Was he being selfish? He sighed with a loud frustrated moan. He should have gone straight to bed instead.

He winced in pain when he felt his bruise pound in unison with his heart.

Don't forget the migraine too.

"Great…"

He brought his hand up and squeezes his pulsating temple. Too bad they were out of aspirin. Ken will just have to sleep through the pain. Ken looks over at Yohji's bed and decides to sleep on it. Yohji wouldn't mind anyway… he was gone after all. He doubt Yohji will be back before Ken woke up anyway.

The brunette pulls the blankets to the side and drops his entire weight on the bed. He presses his face on Yohji's pillow and takes in the blondes scent into his lungs. Ken really wanted Yohji here with him, but instead he drove him out. He wasn't angry about it though, Ken knew he deserved it anyway. The man turns on his side and stares out of the window that was next to the bed.

He soon lost complete interest and gave in to the weight of his eyelids. After a few minutes, he finally drifted to sleep.

**----**

Last mile in the pale light

Take me home with you tonight

We'll touch 'til it feels right

You won't say 'Love' but I might

One heart out of two

One life: Me and You

One heart out of two

One life: Me and You

**----**

Ran pulls out a black trench coat from the main closet and covers his skinny frame with it. He then quickly exits the suite, leaving only a few lights on. The red head skips down a few steps and nearly jogs out of the entire hotel. He wanted leave before Brad returned from his hunt. If Brad caught him before he left, he wouldn't know what he would have done to Ran. It was Brad's idea to leave Ran alone in the suite anyway. Ran's creator was punishing him after all, for seeing Ken.

Prior to this night, Brad had a talk with Ran. He warned him that if he ever disobeyed his creator, he'll leave him alone in the suite while he went out for a hunt, because he knew how much Ran hated being alone with just his thoughts wandering from place to place. Many years ago when Ran was barely getting use to being a vampire, Brad has punished Ran the same way. By leaving him alone for a couple of hours. As Brad returned, Ran nearly fell to his knees sobbing, he felt abandoned with no one else to help him with his new body. He cried to Brad telling him that even his own mind was against him, it wanted to kill him with harsh realizations and insults. Of course, that was so long ago, when Ran lost everything in that same year, he was feeling very vulnerable. Brad thought that if left Ran alone again, he'll run to him sobbing like a new born.

Ran laughed.

On the contrary, Ran took it as his opportunity to run away for a while.

He wanted to see Ken again, to apologize about earlier that night.

Ran ran down the street and smiled to himself when he felt the crisp air tingle around his face as oppose to having the heat from antique lamps and candles surround his body uncomfortably.

But speaking of heat, he did scare Ken from his cold hands. Before seeing the brunette, he felt that he should feed to gain the heat from the living into his body for a few hours. Just to gain Ken's trust.

Ran walks towards the park to find anyone hanging around there in the middle of the night. And just to his luck, he found a female, seated all alone on the grass under a tree.

The immortal grinned.

Such an easy target, he thought.

Ran approached his prey.

"Hello."

The woman turned around and bit her red lips when she saw the man that approached her.

"Hello to you too" She had a throaty laugh and looked Ran up and down.

"What is a beautiful woman like yourself doing in the park alone?" Ran walks closer to her and lends his hand to help her up.

"I enjoy walking out around at night, it's part of my job, anyway." She takes his hand and he lifts her up with ease.

"So cold…" She leans in to his ear and purrs.

"Very sexy…"

She was a prostitute; Ran was very sickened by her loose appearance.

He hated the prostitutes that hit on him during his time, and he definitely hated the ones from this time. But he was hungry after all. This might be his only opportunity to feed; he didn't think he would come around to find anyone as easy as this one. So he continued to play along.

Ran moistened his lips with his tongue hungrily.

"I'm glad you think so."

She pulls his trench coat down his shoulders and pressed her lips onto his for a deep kiss.

"Take me to your place… I'll give you a discount for being so hot..." she licks her lips and smiles.

Ran chuckles.

"I don't think that'll be happening."

"What? Then you want to do it here?" She kisses his neck and pulls away.

Ran looks down to her and grins at her, showing off his fangs.

"No… there will be no need for any of that…"

The blonde prostitute slowly takes in the fangs and gasps in fear.

"What the hell… HEl-nuhhh!"

Ran presses his face on her neck and pierces his fangs into her artery taking in her blood with hungry gulps and growls. He hasn't eaten for days; this was a friendly reminder of what he was missing.

Her limbs were flailing, and unintelligent cries and moans escaped her lips. She tried to push him away, but as the blood left her body she grew weaker and weaker. Soon the prostitute's heart was beating slower, and finally, her heart was about to stop. Ran instantly pulled her away like a useless doll. He held her dead body with one hand and with the other he claws her neck, covering the two punctures from his teeth. Making it seem like she was attacked by some wild animal rather than killed by a vampire. Ran kissed her neck one last time and throws her body under the tree again.

Ran licks some of the blood from his lips that managed to escape down the corner of his mouth. He lifts the coat over his shoulders and pops his collar.

"I hate it when women touch my coat." Ran scoffs.

The first time Brad took Ran hunting, Ran would carelessly rip at his victims' neck and would attempt to lick all the blood from them. He was such a messy one when he was learning. But as time progressed, he mastered his feeding skills, and now he doesn't even leave a trace of blood around.

Ran left the park and now went towards his destination. Lucky for him, he followed Yohji and Ken the first night after the club. He knows where his angel lives, and knew for sure that they would be asleep by now… so he decided to sneak in to have a quick talk with Ken.

**----**

Ran kneels down as he quietly picks the lock of Ken's place. The door swung open and Ran stood up praising his years of lock picking practice. Now, he's become a pro at doing it. Ran walked in and sniffed the air. Ken's scent was stronger than Yohji's… meaning only one thing…

"Ken is alone…" Ran looked around the dark living room and he quietly shut the front door.

He smiled and felt that he may have his opportunity to talk to Ken now. He lovingly stared at the floor and reminisced the warm touch of Ken's.

"_Do you love him?_" Ran growled when he heard Brad's voice echo in his mind.

"No…. no I don't.." Ran brought both his hands up to his head covering just one eye.

"I don't…"

"_Aya__… you can't love that boy anyway… think about how your dear sister would feel if you pushed her away for a new love… she will cry in her grave."_

"Nuhh.." Ran dropped to his knees.

"Shut up brad… shut up! I don't!" Ran felt tears burn his eyes.

"Aya-chan…" Ran's voice grew weak.

"Yohji!"

Ran dropped his hands and shot his head towards Ken's voice.

"Yohji are you there…?" Ran slowly stood up and dumbly stared at the direction of Ken's voice.

He was coming.

"Hey, Yohji, I'm sorry… please talk to me…" Ken stared at the body standing by the door. He approached it.

"Yohji?"

"I'm not Yohji…"

The brunette backs up, he recognized that voice.

"Wh-what are you doing here?"

**----**

"Ran!" Brad pushes the door open and shuts it as he removes his coat. A smiled played on his lips as he tried to catch Ran's attention.

"Ran! Where the hell are you?!" Brad throws his eyeglasses on the table, and searches around the partially lit suite for his red head.

"You better be here…" The man growls.

Brad lands his eyes on one of Ran's favorite books on the couch. The red head never forgets to put his books away, unless he was distracted. Brad was beginning to suspect Ran left despite the orders he gave him.

Ran's creator walks up to the closet and swings the door open.

"One… two… three…" His finger lace around Ran's coat as he counted. Brad's cold eyes glares at every coat he pushes aside. Then he raises a brow and gasps.

"Oh my… there are only thirteen coats hanging in this closet… who has taken the fourteenth one?" Brads fingers gently picks out the naked hanger in the closet.

"My love… it's your favorite one too" Brad purrs.

"My love… where did you go?" His gold eyes trace the small figures on the carpet.

"You'll regret even thinking about seeing him…" Brad drops the hanger and with no hurry at all walks out of the suite humming to himself.

**----**

Made love and you muttered, "We're through"

One heart, but the mind was in two

One half filled with the dreams of a saint

The other one filled with nothing but hate

I hope I die in the arms of a child

In a meadow where the thistles grow wild

One heart out of two

One life: Me and You

One heart out of two

One life: Me and You.

**--Time Can Never Kill the True Heart//STARS**

**TBC**


	6. The Night Starts Here

**Ageless Beauty**

**By: Kanon Hara**

**Authors Note: **I'm truly sorry for the delay, I have been very busy in the last… year basically. It's pretty much hard to update when I want. But I'm on break right now, so I will do my best to update my fics as often as I can. Also, after I post this chapter, I'm going to go through every chapter and revise them again until I am fully satisfied with the outcome. There may be major changes as well as small ones, but once chapter 6 is posted I would still recommend all of you to check it out. That is, in case you are curious about the changes. Other than that, the plot itself will be no different. Blah blah blah ENJOY!

**Ageless Beauty**

**Chapter 5**

The night starts here, the night starts here,

Forget your name, forget your fear.

The night starts here, the night starts here,

Forget your name, forget your fear…

**--The Night Starts Here/STARS**

--

He exits the hotel by pushing the front door open with only the palm of his hand, ignoring the sound that panned out from the contact his palm had with the door. This unannounced disturbance caused many to jump and yelp from the surprise of the loud slap that echoed throughout the foyer. But he was just not fully satisfied with that slight release. In frustration, he slams the door shut behind him, using at least a quarter of his strength. This would obviously be considered unbelievable strength in the eyes of a mortal, regardless of how weak it was to him. As the front door slammed shut he released a growl which emanated from his throat in unison with the loud ""bang"". The warn-out brick wall from the outside vibrated from the intensity, pieces of debris, the size of small footballs and possibly larger, broke off the wall landing loudly onto the sidewalk. Imagine how it felt from the inside.

Brad just could not fully control his anger that was threatening to break out of his chest nor could he release it with a satisfying fist to a wall or sidewalk. Saying he was livid would be an understatement, if possible, he was beyond any term that might even remotely describe his current state. Brad's body was shaking violently; it seems like the two things keeping the monster in him from fully losing control are his clenched fists… and the inevitable hurt that developed in his chest.

This indescribable pain formed itself into a lump at the entrance of his throat, making it hard for him to breathe, difficult to swallow…... and impossible to ignore. He flashed golden eyes to anyone who got in his way as well as shoved them away from his single path. There was no way he was going to move for anyone who appeared to be an obstacle in his course. He once again tightly clenched his fists until his skin turned a visible shade of white, if possible. With every growl that escaped to his mouth, he would throw his head up towards the stars, as though he were sniffing the crisp air, and made an impossible attempt to keep his lips over his visible fangs.

The very thought of Ran even going to see that boy made Brad sick to his very stomach. A feeling he rarely feels, considering that he had always had control over Ran's actions.

"Had..." Brad stops at his steps and breathes heavily.

He didn't have control over Ran anymore, it seems. When Brad use to give Ran an order, there was no way Ran would disobey him. By any circumstance would he disobey his creator. But ever since he made his first contact, after so many years, with that boy, Ran completely lost interest of obeying Brad. He was only focusing on his own needs, wants, and all that rubbish.

"How selfish." Brad snarls.

At this very moment, Brad was able to go through every idea possible just get rid of Ran. Destroying his own fledgling would guarantee that Ken will not get in his way, by any means. But is it really worth losing Ran for? Was it really worth taking his life for?

Brad could not bring himself to get rid of the one person who he had grown to love for many years. Brad loves Ran too much to take his life away just to win some race. He loves him as a lover, as a child, and as a friend. He loves Ran on so many levels, he cannot just settle with one form of love. Though his rage tends to cloud all logical thinking, in the end, however…... when all of that subsides, Brad just has no intention of letting his lover go just yet.

The only person he was willing to kill was the one taking his lover away.

"Ken…" He hissed under his breath as he proceeded to walk again.

His black, patent-leather shoes dropped heavily on the bricked sidewalk as his steps became more rapid and angry. Brad was headed to his destination, and with his determination… no one was going to stop him. He was going to find that boy and will do everything in his power to ruin that kid's life. Make his life miserable until Ken begs for death.

The thought of hearing his screams brought a chill of excitement.

Of course, before death gets involved, Ran might actually leave this one alone as well…; exactly how he was forced to tear away from Sakura and Botan in the past. Ken will be no different. Ran will be running back if he knew Ken was getting hurt.

Love.

Such a naïve emotion. Makes one powerless and stupid. There will be no flaw to this plan. Brad will do anything to win Ran back.

He was not going to lose to some weak, mortal kid. Even if winning meant hurting Ran, he was willing to risk it. Plus, time heals all wounds, as the saying goes… and as they both know, they have more than time to heal a wound and clear up the scar.

Brad commended himself for his clever thinking.

Brad is a jealous lover and in the end…. he will win.

Because Brad always gets what he wants.

--

The pleasure pot, the after thought,

The missing stone in the graveyard.

The time we had, the task at hand,

The love it takes to become a man.

--

Ken sucked in his breath and held it in as he had forced himself to replay the voice in his thoughts over and over again, until he was able to register who the intruder was. Such a torturous method to use since it only resulted in Ken breaking into a cold sweat. Unfortunately, his body made no means to react in the "correct" matter as well. That is, fleeing a certain situation in which danger was involved. His feet were literally super-glued to the hard wood floor and his mind was frozen in time. Every logical thing he had thought of a moment ago simply jumped out of his mind leaving him with the fear of being utterly defenseless.

Correction, being _obviously_, utterly defenseless.

He took a shaky step back, feeling dizzy as his foot clumsily landed on the floor. Ken released his breath and took another step back, and another and another. He held his hands out behind him, making sure he doesn't crash into anything. If he fell down, it would have caused a handicap on his side, because he would be too scared to stand up and regain perfect balance to stay up. He would simply fall back down leaving himself ridiculously vulnerable.

Why did it matter anyway, since this may be the only time he had left? The stranger already knows where he lives. Hell, he even knows how to enter the place without making so much as a noise to disturb their rest and have them react in defense.

_"…You will be mine…"_ Ken's eyes widen as he was able to clearly hear a voice in his head. Every word hitting a familiar part in his memory...… he had heard this before, but he couldn't figure out where or even when he had heard this exact sentence. He suddenly falters back a few more steps, completely forgetting that he was backing away from Ran, until his back finally makes contact with the wall behind him.

"Uhh!" The brunette grunts and holds a hand to his forehead.

"Why… why does it hurt so much?" He whispers between his teeth.

"Ken…..." The voice finally spoke up through the thick darkness that was weighing down on Ken's chest.

"Ken… what's wrong?" This voice had a pang of worry to it.

The sound itself was very soothing, like listening to wind chimes on a breezy afternoon. This brought a chill throughout Ken's body. A chill that made his heart jump with joy and nearly beg to hear more of this angelic sound. The feeling one would have while meeting up with a lover after so many years of missing them. A sudden feeling of fulfillment rushed through his compressed chest.

"Ken, are you O.K.?" The voice asked again.

His eyes shot open as a stream of tears roll down his cheeks. His heart began to race and some sense of familiarity took a blow at his abdomen. At this very moment, he was completely breathless. The only support he had was his back to the wall. At least it wouldn't complain about how heavy dead weight really was.

This voice may have been responsible for dropping some of the tension in the dark room… but there was just one thing the beautiful voice could not successfully remove: the pain flooding through every artery in Ken's body.

Ken didn't know if it would have been wise to answer the man. The last thing he wants is to give some stranger any ideas. He ignored the fact that he was in a definite handicap, with his back to the wall and nowhere to run, and kept his lips locked shut. Breathing was not an option.

He stayed silent and refused to give Ran a peep of a sound. Maybe the awkward silence will be the ultimate thing that will drive the man out of Ken's place.

But before Ken even had one second to bring up his hopes, his little experiment had completely failed him. Rather than driving Ran out, Ken heard the stranger's footsteps slowly approach him. Every step the man before him made was ridiculously loud, as though he were purposely announcing his approach rather than hiding it. Either he was horrible at sneaking up on others, or he was attempting to let Ken know how close he was getting, without trying to alarm him. Considering the fact that he managed to sneak up on Ken in the alley way and in the apartment makes Ken believe that he really is pretty good at this sneaking up thing. So he was leaning more towards the second theory. Plus, It was pitch black inside the apartment anyway and Ken can hardly see passed the length of his arm, so maybe that was Ran's intention.

Ran had approached him the way one would approach a stray cat whilst trying to gain its trust. Slow and not sneaky; the last thing that person wants is to scare the cat away.

Ken's body slides down the wall as his eyes search the darkness, assuming they were on the stranger.

Before Ken can even blink, he felt warm fingers lightly press against his right cheek until there was a distinct palm that cupped it. He took in a nervous breath and froze. There were two things completely wrong with this very moment: first, he did not remember hearing or even sensing the man being this close to him, he thought he was at least twenty-feet away from him. Ken could not understand how the man approached him with such subtle stealth…, maybe Ken was just out of it to notice or even sense any sudden movements. And second, he remembers the stranger feeling a lot colder than this, it was almost like touching cold metal, if he remembered correctly. His skin still had the same feel as before, flawlessly smooth; the only difference Ken noticed now was that the last time he made contact with Ran. Ran's skin was alarmingly cold. But right now he was very warm to the touch. It was a huge contrast from the night prior, and yet it was very comforting.

Ken subconsciously closes his eyes and leans his head toward Ran's hand enjoying the comforting caress. Ran smiles as he feels Ken respond to his touch. He finally gained some of the brunette's trust, Ran thought to himself as his smile slowly stretches on his porcelain face. Ran opens and closes his fingers brushing them against Ken's flushed cheeks as well as playfully twirling his index finger around some loose strands of hair that fell over his eyes. Ken's skin was warmer than Ran was able to imagine; his thoughts did no justice for Ken, at all. It was like touching warm honey.

He slowly moves in a little closer, until both his knees were touching Ken's feet. If he was able to embrace Ken and apologize for hurting him, he was more than willing to do so, but the thought of scaring Ken and hearing him yell at him like the night before made Ran shudder. He was going to hold that thought and wait until Ken was willing as well. It might even be a painstakingly long time, but he had enough time to wait for Ken to open up.

Ran had so much to tell Ken, but he also chose to refrain from speaking. He just wanted to avoid ruining this moment he had with Ken, because God only knows how long he had until he was forced to tear away from Ken's side. Every second he had with him counted. Maybe talking can wait as well; he had to fully gain Ken's trust before even thinking about muttering a single syllable.

Unfortunately for Ran, it did not take Ken long to notice the current situation. Ken instantly slaps Ran's hand away from his face and pushes the man as far as he was able to. Saddened by the sudden mistrust Ken developed, Ran sighs and allows the man to push him away. After all, he just wants Ken to trust him, forcing his presence on Ken will not end well for the two. Ran was still seated by Ken at least, just not too close to scare him away.

The redhead was starting to grow a little anxious from Ken's unwillingness to speak that he finally took this opportunity to at least exchange a few words with him. Hopefully, after tonight, Ran will have something accomplished.

"What are you doing here?"

Ran smiled to himself, Ken managed to beat him.

"I'm here to talk to you…"

"Yeah… but why? Why must you talk to me? It's like... it's like it's an obligation of yours!" Ken was growing frustrated.

"Well, after what I did to you last night, I thought you would appreciate an explanation. So yes, in a way, I would consider it as an obligation." Ran clenches his fist and took in a deep breath. He once again felt ashamed for carelessly harming Ken in the alley.

Ken cringes as he was forced to remember the previous night and the bruise he strangely got from simply getting grabbed. He rubs his arm, which was not hurting as much as it did after the event. It was just a bruise now.

"Can we not talk about that."

"Talk?" Ran muses.

"Does that mean you are willing to talk to me?" Ran asks hiding his excitement.

The brunette couldn't help but laugh at Ran's childlike question. It's like he completely threw out the entire sentence and kept the only word he was interested in.

Ran tilts his head in reaction to Ken's chuckle; he really did want to talk, but he didn't think Ken would consider it as a joke.

The man kneeling down by Ken reaches up to his bruised arm and lightly brushes his fingers over it.

"I'm sorry" He quietly tells Ken.

"I got carried away…... I'm so careless." Ran stares off into the dark separating the two and wonders listlessly to himself.

"Ummm…." Ken still felt a little uncomfortable with Ran's touchy-feely character, so he kindly brushes Ran's hand away from his arm.

"It's nothing…really… it's healing already." Ken had no idea why he wanted to make Ran feel better about a small injury_ he caused._

"Do you miss them?"

Ken furrows his brows at the sudden change of topic and automatically drops his arms to his sides. He was really having a hard time keeping up with this man. Every sentence was a new subject.

"Miss... who?"

"Your parents?"

The brunette gasps and angrily stares at the figure before him. No one knew about his parents' death but Yohji and him.

"How can you ask something like that? It's none of your business what they are doing right now!"

"Ken I know they died…... I know they died eleven years ago from today." Ran knew that his words sounded more informative rather than apologetic.

"How… did you know about that? No one knows…"

"I was… I was a friend of your fathers." Ran said matter-of-factly.

"A friend!" Ken was growing dizzy from the sudden adrenaline rush to his head. He reaches for Ran's collar and shakes the man.

"You knew my father?" Ken stops shaking him and attempts to hide his tears and his cracked voice.

"How did you know my father?"

"I was always with him when he needed my help"

"Please… tell me about him! Why did he need your help? What did you help him with? I don't exactly remember where he worked, so did you work with him? If it isn't too much to ask, can you tell me about my mother?" it was impossible to hide the emotions his was experiencing, it would drive him mad if he was forced to hold in his sudden flood of questions. He had never felt this close to his parents; the feeling was relieving and it strengthened a bond with his parents he thought would eventually break off as he grew older. He couldn't even visit his parents' grave site, since he hasn't the slightest idea where they were buried.

"He-" Ran's words were cut short as his head shot over to the right of his shoulder towards the door.

He angrily spits at the coming intruder for cutting his time short with Ken.

"Wh…... what's wrong?" Ken's body stiffens.

"I… can't stay long. But please... promise you'll talk to me next time" Ran's response had a sense urgency to it.

Ken squints his eyes attempting to see at least a silhouette of the man in front of him. He was so close, and yet remembering his face was difficult.

"You can't leave just yet! You have to tell me about them!" Ken was beginning to feel deprived from information he felt he deserved to hear. This was angering him, mainly since it was Ran who started the conversation now it was Ran cutting the conversation short. At this point, tears were streaming down his face.

Ken furiously wiped the tears from his wet face.

"Promise me…" His voice once again glided through the darkness pushing any and every uncomfortable energy that was left lingering in the air.

"Ken"

"I promise…" His voice scared him. It didn't sound like it belonged to him, it was some disembodied voice answering for him. He did want to talk to Ran, but simply out of curiosity. His connection with his father befuddled him, so of course he was going to talk to him. But other than that, he had no personal interest on the redhead.

However, he was still shaken up about the pain he was continuing to feel when he thought of this stranger though. A hurt that no one can erase no matter how many apologies were said. This was a hurt that can be controlled, but will never heal throughout time. It'll continue to have a place in his heart and will never seize to torture him if he were to dwell on it. This was the pain Ran was producing and Ken could not figure out why it hurt so much too just stand by him.

"I promise…... but tell me one thing at least…... what's your name?"

Ran smiled as he heard Ken's calm response.

"Ran…"

"R... …Ran" Ken repeated under his breath.

"That''s right"

"Ran...… did I know you?"

"Please Ken, we don't have time… someone is coming... I have to leave."

Both of their eyes shot towards the front door when the door knob began to wiggle furiously.

"At least tell me-"

Before Ken can finish, the door swings open and the living-room lights go on. The brunette squints his eyes from the pestering glow of the light that was burning his pupil and causing a slight headache. When he finally developed an immunity to the light, blue-green eyes instantly scans the room... the beautiful stranger was nowhere to be seen.

"Ran…?" Ken called.

--

The dust at dawn is rained upon.

Attaches itself to everyone.

No one is spared, no one is clean.

It travels places you've never been or seen…

Before.

--

Ken clumsily stands to his feet and instantly scans the room again; he turns around pushing his weight off the wall and walks to the hallway. He stumbles around the apartment with a dazed expression trying in vain to find the man he was just talking to. But this man was completely gone.

Disappeared into thin air.

"Was it a dream?"

"Ken-kun?"

Ken hears his name and blinks back to reality.

It was Omi who opened the door.

"Ken-kun...… what happened?" Omi places a brown paper-bag down on the coffee table and runs to Ken.

"Omi... h-he... was here! He was standing right here!" Ken emphasizes the area next to Omi's shoulder.

"Who was here?"

"Him…... no... Ran! Ran! He told me his name…... he was here…... he…" Ken pressed his shaky fingers to his temples with such pressure.

"Ran?"

"Yes! Ran! He kissed my hand...… or... something...… and he said he was coming…... no… that didn't hap-Omi!" Ken calls for Omi in urgency. The brunette felt very skeptical but at the same time very fearful of what just took place in his apartment.

"Omi, he told me that he knew my dad! He worked with him!" Ken's eyes began to water as he thought about the connection Ran and his father had.

"Ken-kun… calm down, no one was here. You were probably dreaming." His younger companion wraps his arm around his waist and ducks under Ken's arm to lead him to his room.

Omi walks Ken to his room and helps him crawl into bed. The attempt to successfully help him to bed was like helping a drunken man sit on a chair properly, Ken's body was wobbly and his focus was completely off. With much needed help, Ken finally drops his entire weight on the desired area on his bed and stretches every limb out.

"Omi...… what are you doing here, anyway?" Ken closes his eyes trying to keep his head from spinning.

"Oh, you don't know? Yohji called me, he told me to check up on you as a huge favor. I guess he had to take care of something important." Omi shrugs and wraps a flannel blanket around Ken.

"Like what? Sucking some chicks face dry…... really, why are you here?"

The blonde shudders at the mental image he got thanks to Ken's description.

"I doubt he was doing that from the sound of his voice. I'm being perfectly honest, though, Ken-kun. He called me, told me he was worried about leaving you after what happened last night. So he told me to check up on you." Omi leans over Ken's bed and opens his window ajar.

"Then why would he leave!"

"I really don't know what happened here, nor do I want too… so I can't say. Just get some rest you look very stressed out."

Ken sighs and nods his head in agreement. He was pretty exhausted after what happened last night and what just took place a couple of minutes ago.

"O.K., I brought you some things to help you sleep as well, now rest up I'll be right back with tea."

"Yeah… O.K."

Omi steps out of the room and quietly shuts the door behind him.

Coming out of one dark room and into another did not really help Ken fall into a sound sleep; he just couldn't find sleep at all, regardless of how exhausted he was. He had too much in mind that sleeping seemed like a waste of time at the moment. Question after question flooded his thoughts that he was anticipating the sun to rise. He has to see Ran again, he wants to know about his parents and he just has to know exactly what happened to them.

--

You drop a coin into the sea

And shout out, "Please come back to me!"

You name your child after your fear

And tell them, "I have brought you here."

--

"Well, well, well." Brad stands up from a bench he was sitting on, waiting for Ran, and dusts his slacks off from any leaves that fell onto his lap.

"I thought I might find you here, Aya"

Ran growls as Brad approaches him as though he were ready to pounce at him in any given second.

"Now calm down, my beautiful, don't be too rash when you haven't the slightest clue what my intentions are" Brad narrows his eyes and throws Ran his most cynical smile, freely showing Ran his fangs. He was obviously giving him a silent promise.

Brad takes Ran's hand and glares down at the shorter male.

"Where were you?"

Ran reluctantly allows Brad to take his hand.

He kept his gaze on the ground and had no intention of answering Brad. It really did not concern Brad where he went.

"You're not going to tell me?"

He quirks his brows and felt every limb in his body tighten from the frustration of Ran's silent treatment. Brad began to squeeze every finger around Ran's small hand, making sure it was tight enough to hurt his young fledgling. Unfortunately, Ran did not show much of a reaction from the tight grasp on his hand, no matter how much it was beginning to hurt, so it only made Brad even more livid than before. But Ran knew that's exactly what Brad wanted... and for once in his life, he refuses to give Brad something as minimal as a simple reaction.

"Did you see that boy? Huh?" His voice was growing more impatient, Ran was really testing him and he was not going to allow such disrespect from someone lower than him. With his free hand he slaps Ran across his face pushing him in the process.

Ran grunts from the force of Brad's hit, which can barely pass as a slap, and instantly puts his hand to his cheek. Brad releases Ran's hand and pushes the younger male away from him.

"I asked you a question!"

Ran still remained silent.

"Ran! Do not test me! I will continue to hurt you until you beg me to stop!"

"You would want that, wouldn't you Brad?" Ran spits and drops his hand from his cheek.

Once again, Brad slaps Ran across the face leaving a few scratches on it.

"Don't you EVER talk to me like that again!" Brad made sure to get his point across by throwing a Ran a punch. From this hit, Ran lost his footing and stumbled a little to his right. He got his balance back and stands to his fullest height. He was challenging Brad with his glare.

"I dare you to keep going, let's see how much I can take" the redhead threw Brad a sadistic and taunting smirk.

"Come on, keep going. Isn't this what you wanted?"

"Shut up! Shut up! Now tell me where you were!" Brad backed away refusing to take on Ran's challenge. Ran on the other hand did not need a verbal response, he knew Brad already declined when he stepped back.

"It doesn't matter where I went; I don't have to tell you anything!"

"Now you... BASTARDO (3)!" Brad releases a growl. He grabs Ran's face and pulls it towards his, breathing heavily down at the man who was now at his mercy.

"I know you went to see that boy. Tonight, you guys were lucky that I let it slip away. But I promise you and that pathetic creature that if you ever decide to see him again I will be more than happy to interfere and end that meeting before scheduled time. And if you decide to see him a fourth time, _death will be the result of your disobedience_." Brad tightened his grasp with every word he stressed.

--

The pleasure pot, the after shock.

The moment it takes to fall apart.

The time we have, the task at hand.

The love it takes to destroy a man.

The ecstasy, the being free,

A big black cloud over you and me.

And after that, the upward falls.

And worry angels after all.

I don't know.

--

Bastardo (3): As many of you probably already guessed, this word means 'bastard' within the Romance Language. But I bet there is one thing you didn't know, it also means grape in Italian.

**A/N:** Finally, I managed to finish this. There was a lot of planning around to make this fic end the way I really wanted it to. I'm pretty anxious to know what you all thought of this long awaited chapter.


End file.
